Pushing power with out breaker popping

[Matt Reiland]

Originally posted by rlowerr_1
What I want to know is how teams are able to get into pushing stalemates for the last 10-15 seconds of a match. No matter what your max torque, gear ratio, or amount of motors are you are not able to have them stalled like that without popping breakers.

Our robot this year (Like some others) Used the Drills & Chips in a 2-speed with Blue Supergrip treads. In low we had enough power in the drivetrain to spin the tracks against an immovable object without tripping the breakers for somewhere around 30 seconds. I think what Paul is telling you is the same thing. The teams that can push continously for an extended period of time are usually spinning their wheels or tracks such that the motors are not stalled out. They may even have some sort of clutch to keep the motors from stalling (47). I don't think there are any teams out there that can go up to an immovable object and stall the motors (edit: At full voltage) for 15 seconds without tripping the breakers or at least burning up the motors.

If your robot is continously tripping the breakers in a pushing match, you need a better gear ratio, more power, or less grip to keep you in the game under power.